Title

Author

Date of Award

5-1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

English

First Advisor

Dr. Suzanne W. Jones

Abstract

My study explores Lillian Smith's autobiographical relationship to her fiction, particularly two novels, Strange Fruit, and One Hour. The focus of this work is Smith's challenge to the category of sexual orientation and her related use of fiction as a source of social commentary and self-reflection. Smith's uses veiled and encoded language and other kinds of tabooed love to study her own lesbian love. She also assumes a male persona to understand and express her erotic attraction to women. I approach Smith's life and literature in chronological order with an emphasis upon characterization, symbolism, narrative technique, and metaphors of nature. My fictional interpretations are supported by excerpts from Smith's letters and essays.